Ms Robisnon's first job in the wine field was an an assistant editor of a wine trade magazine. And after she joined the magazine, she found out that she was hired not because of her passion for wine but because she had successfully run the skiing side of Britain's biggest holiday company.

``They thought I was a good organiser and that I would organise myself to learn about wine,'' says Ms Robinson, who was in India last week to run a training session for The Oberoi's F&B staff. In the early 70s, Ms Robinson drank a bottle of Chambolle-Musigny 1959, shared with her date at Oxford University. This bottle ignited her passion and love for wine, leading to her quest for a career in wine. Today, she is a popular TV host of BBC's wine and food show, a critic for The Financial Times, London, and a columnist for a French trade magazine. Ms Robinson is one of the 200 people worldwide to earn the title of `Master of Wine' (a degree that has a 10 per cent pass rate) and several awards. She is also the author of theOxford Companion to Wine, the most authoritative boon on the subject and a bible for all those who study for the Master of Wine exam, Jancis Robinson's Wine Course and the autobiographical Tasting Pleasure: Confessions of A Wine Lover.

Ms Robinson is one of those wine connoisseurs who does not believe in ``wine snobbery''. ``Most people throw their weight around to demonstrate they know more than anybody else. Also, the correct pairing of wine with food is a little difficult to swallow,'' she says. She feels that the wine movement has gained importance in the west because of the strong anti-alcohol movement. ``The softened egdes of wine have made wine seem less like just an alcoholic drink. Wine, of course, provides pleasure at the table in a very civilised manner,'' she says.

Ms Robinson believes in demystifying wine. She does not feel that a particular wine has to be paired with a particular kind of food. ``Most people says that Indian food does not go with wine. On the contrary, a fruity wine with a strong flavour will go very well with spicy food,'' she says. And this wine connoisseur also has a simple solution for matching wine. ``If the taste of the wine and the food clash, just take a gulp of water in between a mouthful of food and a sip of wine,'' she says. Ms Robinson has a glass of wine with her dinner everyday and sometimes up to three glasses.

Her overriding thesis is that wine's main duty is to give pleasure. ``The most important thing is to decide what gives you pleasure rather than following somebody else's likes and dislikes, believing that they are right.

There are no `rights' and `wrongs' in wine appreciation,'' she says, puncturing all the myths about wine drinking.

``The danger in discussing wine and food is that we suggest matching wine and food is terribly important. My view is that there is probably an ideal wine for every dish, but life is far too short to spend searching for such a match,'' she says.